Council Briefs, June 24, 2015

Council voted in favour to accept an application from the Passenger Transportation Board to expand taxi service in and around Sooke. The company in question, Uptown Taxi Ltd., said it will focus on handling trips from groups ranging from five to seven passengers. The proposed fleet of taxis will consist of eight new taxis of which six will be seven-passenger hybrid vehicles and two will be wheelchair-accessible vans. Council said the service is dearly needed in Sooke right now due to extreme wait times, which can vary between 45 minutes and one hour or more.

Report on multi-use trail and parking areas delayed

Council carried the motion to send a recent report on the multi-use trail and parking lot projects back to staff for a more thorough review. The proposal is for 770 meters of paved separated multi-user trail along Sooke River Road and to provide parking for recreational facilities in the area. There was some additional need for clarification on which contractor would be doing the work and what was the criteria used to pick the one for the job.

Parking still needed for upcoming turf field

While the multi-use trail grant is still in the works, the lack of adequate parking in the area to accommodate the proposed all-weather field remains an issue, as pointed out by Karl Linell, president of the Sooke Community Association. Council carried the motion to have district staff survey the area for further information.

Petition for new sewer system received

Council gave first, second and third reading on a petition to have the Sooke core sewer enlarged and modernized for the owners of 7033 Wright Road. The applicants want to be pro-active and connect their home to a more environmentally-secure system before their currently-aging system fails.